Method and apparatus for renting items

ABSTRACT

According to a computer-implemented approach for renting items to customers, customers specify what items to rent using item selection criteria separate from deciding when to receive the specified items. According to the approach, customers provide item selection criteria to a provider provides the items indicated by the item selection criteria to customer over a delivery channel. The provider may be either centralized or distributed depending upon the requirements of a particular application. A “Max Out” approach allows up to a specified number of items to be rented simultaneously to customers. A “Max Turns” approach allows up to a specified number of item exchanges to occur during a specified period of time. The “Max Out” and “Max Turns” approaches may be used together or separately with a variety of subscription methodologies.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to inventory rental, and morespecifically, to an approach for renting items to customers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional inventory rental models are typically based upon rentingitems for fixed rental periods and charging late fees for keeping renteditems beyond a specified return date. These types of inventory modelssuffer from several significant limitations. First, conventional rentalmodels require customers to make the decision of what items to rent atsubstantially the same time as the decision of when to rent the items.An example that illustrates this limitation is a video rental business.Customers go to a video rental store and select particular movies torent at that time. The customers take the movies home and must returnthem by a particular due date or be charged a late fee. In thissituation, the customers cannot decide what movies to rent beforeactually renting them. The customers may have a particular movie inmind, but there is no guarantee that the video rental store has theparticular movie in stock. Moreover, due dates are inconvenient forcustomers, particularly for “new release” movies that are generally dueback the next day.

Given the current demand for inventory rental and the limitations in theprior approaches, an approach for renting items to customers that doesnot suffer from limitations associated with conventional inventoryrental models is highly desirable. In particular, an approach forrenting inventory items to customers that allows separation ofcustomers' decisions of what items to rent from when to rent the itemsis highly desirable.

There is a further need for an approach for renting items to customerson a continuous basis that avoids the use of fixed due dates or rental“windows” appurtenant to conventional rental models.

There is yet a further need for an approach for renting movies, gamesand music to customers that is more convenient and flexible to customersthan conventional approaches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a method is provided forrenting items to customers on a subscription basis. Up to a specifiednumber of items are provided to the customer. In response to one or moreitem delivery criteria being satisfied (such a return of one or morepreviously rented items), one or more other items are provided to thecustomer, wherein a total current number of items provided to thecustomer does not exceed the specified number.

According to another of the invention, a method is provided for rentingitems to customers. According to the method, one or more item selectioncriteria are received that indicate one or more items that a customerdesires to rent. Up to a specified number of the one or more itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria are provided to thecustomer. In response to one or more item delivery criteria beingsatisfied, one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria are provided to the customer, wherein a total currentnumber of items provided to the customer does not exceed the specifiednumber.

According to another of the invention, a computer-implemented method isprovided for renting items to customers. According to the method, one ormore item selection criteria are received that indicate one or moreitems that a customer desires to rent. Up to a specified number of theone or more items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaare provided to the customer. In response to one or more item deliverycriteria being satisfied, one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria are provided to the customer, wherein atotal current number of items provided to the customer does not exceedthe specified number.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod is provided for renting items to customers. According to themethod, one or more item selection criteria are received that indicateone or more items that a customer desires to rent. Up to a specifiednumber of the one or more items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria are provided to the customer. In response to one ormore item delivery criteria being satisfied, one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria are provided to thecustomer, wherein a total number of items provided to the customerwithin a specified period of time does not exceed a specified limit.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided forrenting movies to customers. Up to a specified number of movies areprovided to the customer. In response to a return of any of the moviesprovided to the customer, one or more other movies are provided to thecustomer, wherein a total current number of movies provided to thecustomer does not exceed the specified number.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method is provided forrenting movies to customers. Up to a specified number of movies areprovided to the customer. In response to a return of any of the moviesprovided to the customer, one or more other movies are provided to thecustomer, wherein a total current number of movies provided to thecustomer does not exceed the specified number and wherein a total numberof movies provided to the customer within a specified period of timedoes not exceed a specified limit.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer-implementedmethod is provided for renting movies to customers. According to themethod, one or more movie selection criteria are received from acustomer that indicates one or more movies that the customer desires torent. Up to a specified number of the one or more movies indicated bythe one or more movie selection criteria are provided to the customer.In response to a return of any of the movies provided to the customer,one or more other movies indicated by the one or more movie selectioncriteria are provided to the customer, wherein a total current number ofmovies provided to the customer does not exceed the specified number andwherein a total number of movies provided to the customer within aspecified period of time does not exceed a specified limit.

According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for rentingitems to customers is provided. The apparatus comprises one or moreprocessors and a memory communicatively coupled to the one or moreprocessors. The memory includes one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform several steps. First, one or moreitem selection criteria are received that indicate one or more itemsthat a customer desires to rent. Up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria areprovided to the customer. Finally, in response to one or more itemdelivery criteria being satisfied, one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria are provided to the customer,wherein a total current number of items provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number.

According to another aspect of the invention, an apparatus is providedfor renting items to customers. The apparatus comprises an item rentalmechanism configured to receive one or more item selection criteria thatindicate one or more items that a customer desires to rent. The itemrental mechanism is also configured to provide to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria. Finally, the item rental mechanism isconfigured to in response to one or more item delivery criteria beingsatisfied, provide to the customer one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria, wherein a total current numberof items provided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and notby way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and inwhich like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an approach for renting items to customersaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting an approach for renting items tocustomers according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a “Max Out” approach for rentingitems to customers according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a “Max Turns” approach for rentingitems to customers according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting an approach for renting audio/video itemsto customers over the Internet according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an approach for rentingaudio/video items to customers over the Internet using both “Max Out”and “Max Turns” according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computer system upon which embodiments ofthe invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe invention. However, it will be apparent that the invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knownstructures and devices are depicted in block diagram form in order toavoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention.

Various aspects and features of example embodiments of the invention aredescribed in more detail hereinafter in the following sections: (1)functional overview; (2) item selection criteria; (3) item delivery; (4)“Max Out”; (5) “Max Turns”; (6) inventory management; and (7)implementation mechanisms.

1. FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW

FIG. 1 is a block diagram 100 that illustrates an approach for rentingitems to customers according to various embodiments described herein. Asused herein, the term “items” refers to any commercial goods that can berented to customers. Examples of items include movies, music and gamesstored on a non-volatile memory such as a tape, other magnetic medium,optical medium, read-only memory or the like, and the invention is notlimited to any particular type of item. In general, the decision of whatitems to rent is separated from the decision of when to rent the items.Customers may specify what items to rent using one or more itemselection criteria separate from deciding when to receive the specifieditems. Furthermore, customers are not constrained by conventional rental“windows” and instead can have continuous, serialized rental of items.

According to one embodiment, a customer 102 provides one or more itemselection criteria to a provider 104 over a link 106. Link 106 may beany medium for transferring data between customer 102 and provider 104and the invention is not limited to any particular medium. Examples oflink 106 include, without limitation, a network such as a LAN, WAN orthe Internet, a telecommunications link, a wire or optical link or awireless connection.

The item selection criteria indicate items that customer 102 desires torent from provider 104. In response to receiving the item selectioncriteria from customer 102, provider 104 provides the items indicated bythe item selection criteria to customer 102 over a delivery channel 108.Delivery channel 108 may be implemented by any mechanism or medium thatprovides for the transfer of items from provider 104 to customer 102 andthe invention is not limited to any particular type of delivery channel.Examples of delivery channel 108 include, without limitation, maildelivery, courier delivery or delivery using a delivery agent. Provider104 may be centralized or distributed depending upon the requirements ofa particular application.

According to an embodiment, a “Max Out” approach allows up to aspecified number of items to be rented simultaneously to customer 102 byprovider 104. According to another embodiment, a “Max Turns” approachallows up to a specified number of item exchanges to occur during aspecified period of time. The “Max Out” and “Max Turns” approaches maybe used together or separately with a variety of subscriptionmethodologies.

The approach just described for renting items to customers is nowdescribed with reference to a flow diagram 200 of FIG. 2. After startingin step 202, in step 204, customer 102 creates item selection criteria.In step 206, customer 102 provides the item selection criteria toprovider 104. In step 208, in response to provider 104 receiving theitem selection criteria from customer 102, provider 104 provides one ormore items indicated by the item selection criteria to customer 102. Theprocess is complete in step 210.

2. ITEM SELECTION CRITERIA

The one or more item selection criteria provided by customer 102 toprovider 104 indicate the particular items that customer 102 desires torent from provider 104. Thus, the item selection criteria define acustomer-specific order queue that is fulfilled by provider 104.According to one embodiment, the item selection criteria specifyattributes of items to be provided by provider 104 to customer 102. Itemselection criteria may specify any type of item attributes and theinvention is not limited to particular item attributes. Examples of itemattributes include, without limitation, identifier attributes, typeattributes and cost attributes. Item selection criteria may be changedat any time to reflect changes in items that customers desire to rentfrom a provider.

3. ITEM DELIVERY

According to one embodiment, items are delivered by provider 104 tocustomer 102 over delivery channel 108 based upon item deliverycriteria. More specifically, the delivery of items from provider 104 tocustomer 102 is triggered by item delivery criteria being satisfied. Theitem delivery criteria may include a wide range of criteria and theinvention is not limited to any particular item delivery criteria.Examples of item delivery criteria include, without limitation, customerrequest/notification, customer notification that an item is beingreturned, customer return of an item, the occurrence of a specifieddate, the elapsing of a specified period of time or a customer payment.

The item delivery criteria may be specified by customer 102 to provider104 or negotiated by customer 102 and provider 104 as part of asubscription service. For example, a particular subscription service mayinclude item delivery criteria that specifies that a particular numberof items are to be delivered monthly. As another example, item deliverycriteria may specify that an initial set of items is to be delivered byprovider 104 to customer 102 upon initiation of a subscription serviceand that additional items are to be delivered to customer 102 uponreturn of items to provider 104. Item delivery criteria may be applieduniformly to all items to be delivered to a customer, or may be itemspecific. For example, item delivery criteria may specify a particulardate, i.e., the third Wednesday of every month, for all item deliveries.Alternatively, separate item delivery dates may be assigned to eachitem.

4. “MAX OUT”

According to one embodiment, a “Max Out” approach is used to manage thenumber of items that may be simultaneously rented to customers.According to the “Max Out” approach, up to a specified number of itemsmay be rented simultaneously to a customer. Thus, the “Max Out” approachestablishes the size of an inventory of items that may be maintained bycustomers. The specified number of items may be specific to eachcustomer or may be common to one or more customers. In the presentexample, if the specified number of items is three, then up to threeitems may be rented simultaneously by provider 104 to customer 102. Ifthe specified number of items are currently rented to customer 102 andthe specified item delivery criteria triggers the delivery of one ormore additional items, then those items are not delivered until one ormore items are returned by customer 102 to provider 104.

According to one embodiment, in situations where the specified number ofitems are currently rented to customer 102 and the specified itemdelivery criteria triggers the delivery of one or more additional items,then the one or more additional items are delivered to customer 102 andcustomer 102 and a surcharge is applied customer 102. The specifiednumber of items may then be increased thereafter to reflect theadditional items delivered to customer 102 and increase the size of theinventory maintained by customer 102. Alternatively, the specifiednumber of items may remain the same and number of items maintained bycustomer 102 returned to the prior level after items are returned toprovider 104 by customer 102. When used in conjunction with the “MaxTurns” approach described hereinafter, the specified number of items maybe unlimited.

The “Max Out” approach for managing the number of items that may besimultaneously rented to customers is now described with reference to aflow diagram 300 of FIG. 3. After starting in step 302, in step 304, oneor more initial items are delivered to customer 102 to establish theinventory maintained by customer 102. Note that an initial delivery ofitems is not required and according to one embodiment, the inventory ofcustomer 102 is incrementally established over time.

In step 306, a determination is made whether the item delivery criteriahave been satisfied. If not, then the determination continues to be madeuntil the item delivery criteria are satisfied. As described previouslyherein, the delivery criteria may include customer notificationgenerally, customer notification that an item is being returned, theactual return of an item, the occurrence of a specific date, or that aspecified amount of time has elapsed.

Once the item delivery criteria are satisfied, then in step 308, adetermination is made whether the specified number of items have beendelivered. If not, then control returns to step 304 and one or moreadditional items are delivered by provider 104 to customer 102. Ifhowever, in step 308, the specified number of items have been delivered,then in step 310, a determination is made whether the specified numberof items, i.e., the “Max Out” limit, is to be overridden. As previouslydescribed, the specified number of items may be overridden by increasingthe specified number of items, i.e., the “Max Out” limit, to allowadditional items to be delivered to customer 102 and charging a fee tocustomer 102. Alternatively, the specified number of items is notchanged and a surcharge applied to customer 102. This process continuesfor the duration of the subscription and is then complete in step 312.

5. “MAX TURNS”

According to one embodiment, a “Max Turns” approach is used to rentitems to customers. According to the “Max Turns” approach, up to aspecified number of item exchanges may be performed during a specifiedperiod of time. For example, referring to FIG. 1, suppose that provider104 agrees to rent items to customer 102 with a “Max Turns” limit ofthree items per month. This means that customer 102 may make up to threeitem exchanges per month. This approach may be implemented independentof the number of items that a customer may have rented at any given timeunder the “Max Out” approach. The approach is also independent of theparticular item delivery criteria used.

According to one embodiment, the “Max Turns” approach is implemented incombination with the “Max Out” approach to rent items to customers. Inthis situation, up to a specified number of total items aresimultaneously rented to customer 102 and up to a specified number ofitem exchanges may be made during a specified period of time. Thus,using the “Max Out” and the “Max Turns” approaches together essentiallyestablishes a personal item inventory for customer 102 based upon the“Max Out” limit that may be periodically refreshed based upon the “MaxTurns” limit selected.

In some situations, customer 102 may wish to exchange more than thespecified number of items during a specified period. According to oneembodiment, in this situation, provider 104 agrees to rent additionalitems above the specified number to customer 102 and to charge customer102 for the additional items. For example, suppose that provider 104agrees to rent items to customer 102 with up to three item turns(exchanges) per month. If, in a particular month, customer 102 requirestwo additional turns, then the two additional items are provided tocustomer 102 and a surcharge is applied to customer 102 for theadditional two items.

In other situations, customer 102 may not use all of its allotted turnsduring a specified period. According to one embodiment, customers loseunused turns during a subscription period. For example, if customer 102has a “Max Turns” limit of four item exchanges per month and only makestwo item exchanges in a particular month, then the two unused exchangesare lost and cannot be used. At the start of the next month, customer102 would be entitled to four new item exchanges.

According to another embodiment, customers are allowed to carry overunused turns to subsequent subscription periods. For example, ifcustomer 102 has a “Max Turns” limit of four item exchanges per monthand only makes two item exchanges in a particular month, then the twounused exchanges are lost and cannot be used. At the start of the nextmonth, customer 102 would be entitled to six new item exchanges, twofrom the prior month and four for the current month.

The “Max Turns” approach for renting items to customers is now describedwith reference to a flow diagram 400 of FIG. 4. After starting in step402, in step 404, customer 102 and provider 104 agree upon the terms ofthe “Max Turns” agreement. Specifically, customer 102 and provider 104agree at least upon the maximum number of turns that are allowed in aspecified period of time.

In step 406, in response to one or more item delivery criteria beingsatisfied, provider 104 provides one or more items to customer 102 overdelivery channel 108. Any type of item delivery criteria may be usedwith the “Max Turns” approach and the invention is not limited to anyparticular delivery criteria. For example, the initial one or more itemsmay be delivered to customer 102 in response to a subscription paymentmade by customer 102 to provider 104, the initiation of a specifiedsubscription period, or by request of customer 102 for the initialrental items. The number of initial one or more items must not exceedthe terms of the “Max Turns” agreement.

In step 408, in response to one or more delivery criteria beingsatisfied, a determination is made whether additional items can beprovided to customer 102 within the terms of the “Max Turns” agreement.For example, if the number of items rented to customer in the currentsubscription period is less than the agreed-upon “Max Turns,” thenadditional items can be rented to customer 102 within the terms of the“Max Turns” agreement. In this situation, this determination may be madein response to customer 102 returning one or more items to provider 104,or by customer 102 requesting additional items.

If, in step 408, a determination is made that additional items can berented to customer 102 within the terms of the “Max Turns” agreement,then control returns to step 406 where one or more additional items arerented to customer 102. If however, in step 408, a determination is madethat additional items cannot be rented to customer 102 within the termsof the “Max Turns” agreement, then in step 410, a determination is madewhether to override the current agreement terms. If so, then in step412, the agreement terms are changed to allow for a larger number ofterms and customer 102 is charged accordingly, or the terms are leftunchanged and a surcharge is applied for the additional items to bedelivered. Control then returns to step 406, where one or moreadditional items are delivered to customer 102.

If in step 410, a determination is made that the current agreement isnot to be overridden, then in step 414, no items are delivered tocustomer 102 until the next subscription period. For example, therequest for additional items may be received at the end of asubscription period and instead of renting the additional itemsimmediately, they are instead delivered during the subsequentsubscription period. Control then returns to step 406 where one or moreadditional items are rented to customer or the process is complete instep 416.

The approach for renting items described herein is now described in thecontext of renting to customers audio/video (A/V) items, such as movies,games and music, stored on various media. FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 thatdepicts a set of customers 502 that desire to A/V items from a provider504. Customers 502 communicate with provider 504 over links 506, theglobal packet-switched network referred to as the “Internet,” and a link510.

Links 506 and 510 may be any medium for transferring data betweencustomers 502 and the Internet 508 and between the Internet 508 andprovider 504, respectively, and the invention is not limited to anyparticular medium. In the present example, links 506 and 510 may beconnections provided by one or more Internet Service Providers (ISPs)and customers 502 are configured with generic Internet web browsers.Links 506 and 510 may be secure or unsecured depending upon therequirements of a particular application.

In accordance with an embodiment, customers 502 enter into a rentalagreement with provider 504 to rent audio/video (A/V) items 512 fromprovider 504 according to the “Max Out” and/or “Max Turns” approachesdescribed herein. The invention is not limited to any particularapproach for entering into the rental agreement. For example, customers502 and provider 504 may enter into a rental agreement by mail,telephone or over the Internet, by customers 502 logging into a web siteassociated with provider 504.

Customers 502 create and provide item selection criteria to provider 504over links 506 and 510 and the Internet 508. The invention is notlimited to any particular approach for specifying and providing itemselection criteria to provider 504. For example, according to oneembodiment, customers 502 provide item selection criteria to provider504 in one or more data files. According to another embodiment,customers 502 log onto a web site of provider 504 and use a graphicaluser interfaced (GUI) to specify attributes of the movies and music thatcustomers desire to rent from provider 504.

The item selection attributes may include any attributes that describe,at least in part, movies, games or music that customers 502 desire torent. For movies, example attributes include, without limitation, title,category, director name, actor name and year of release. For games,example attributes include, without limitation, title and category. Formusic, example attributes include, without limitation, title, category,artist/group name and year of release. Customers 502 may identifyspecific movies or music by the item selection criteria, or may providevarious attributes and allow provider 504 to automatically selectparticular movies and music that satisfy the attributes specified. Forexample, customers 502 may specify item selection criteria that includehorror movies released in 1999 and let provider 504 automatically selecthorror movies that were release in 1999. As another example, customers502 may specify item selection criteria that include adventure moviesstarring Harrison Ford. Customers 502 may also specify an order orpriority for the specified item selection criteria. For example,customers 502 may specify specific movie titles and the order in whichthey want to receive them. As another example, customers 502 may specifythat they want to receive a particular number of movies of differenttypes.

Once customers 502 and provider 504 have entered into a rental agreementand customers 502 have provided item selection criteria to provider 504,then A/V items 512 are rented to customers 502 over delivery channels514 in accordance with the terms of the rental agreement. Specifically,according to the “Max Out” approach described herein, an initial set ofA/V items 512, such as movies, games and music, are delivered tocustomers 502 over delivery channels 514 according to the terms of therental agreement. Subsequent A/V items 512 are delivered whenever thespecified item delivery criteria are satisfied. For example, additionalA/V items 512 may be delivered upon the return of one or more A/V items512 to provider, a request from customers 502, the arrival of aparticular date, e.g., a specific day of the month, or the expiration ofa specified period of time, e.g., fifteen days.

In accordance with the “Max Out” approach described herein, once themaximum number of A/V items 512 have been rented to a particularcustomer 502, then no additional A/V items 512 are rented until one ormore rented A/V items 512 are returned to provider 504, or unless asurcharge is applied to the particular customer 502. Alternatively, therental agreement between the particular customer 502 and provider 504may be modified to increase the maximum number of A/V items 512 that maybe rented simultaneously to the particular customer 502.

The rental agreement between customers 502 and provider 504 may alsospecify a maximum number of turns in combination with the “Max Out”approach. In this situation, a maximum number of turns restricts howquickly customers 502 may refresh their A/V item 512 inventories. Forexample, suppose that a particular customer 502 agrees with provider 504to rent up to four movies with a maximum of four turns per month. Underthis agreement, the particular customer 502 may maintain a personalinventory of up to four movies and rent four new movies per month. Thus,the particular customer 502 can completely “replace” his personalinventory once per month. If the particular customer 502 agreed to amaximum of up to eight turns per month, then the particular customer 502would be able to completely replace his personal inventory twice permonth.

Provider 504 is illustrated as a single entity for purposes ofexplanation only. Provider 504 may be centralized or distributeddepending upon the requirements of a particular application. Forexample, provider 504 may be a central warehouse from which all A/Vitems 512 are provided. Alternatively, provider 504 may be implementedby a network of distributed warehouses.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram that illustrates an approach for renting A/Vitems 512, e.g., movies, to customers over a communications network suchas the Internet using both “Max Out” and “Max Turns” according to anembodiment. Referring also to FIG. 5, after starting in step 602, instep 604, a customer 502 enters into a rental agreement with provider504. In the present example, customer 502 uses a generic web browser toaccess an Internet web site associated with provider 504 and enter intoa rental agreement that specifies that customer 502 may maintain apersonal inventory of four movies (“Max Out” of four) and receive up tofour new movies per month (“Max Turns” of four). Furthermore, the rentalagreement specifies that new movies will be delivered upon return of arented movie from customer 502, i.e., the delivery criteria is a returnof a movie by the customer.

In step 606, customer 502 creates and provides movie selection criteriato provider 504 that indicates movies that customer 502 desires to rent.For example, the movie selection criteria may specify particular movietitles that customer 502 desires to rent. The movie selection criteriamay also specify an order or priority in which customer 502 wishes torent the movies. Instead of identifying particular movie titles, themovie selection criteria may specify movie preferences for customer 502,e.g., types of movies, directors, actors, or any other movie preferencesor attributes. In this situation, provider 504 automatically selectsparticular titles that satisfy the movie selection criteria. Forexample, the movie selection criteria may specify a preference foraction movies starring a particular actor, with a preference for “newrelease” movies. Provider 504 attempt to provide movies to customer 502that best satisfy the preferences indicated by the movie selectioncriteria.

In step 608, one or more initial movies 512 are delivered to customer502 over delivery channel 514. The one or more initial movies 512 may bedelivered to customer 502 via mail, courier, delivery agent or any othersuitable means negotiated between customer 502 and provider and theinvention is not limited to any particular type of delivery mechanism.For purposes of explanation only, is presumed in the present examplethat movies are mailed between customer 502 and provider 504.

The one or more initial movies 512 establish the personal movieinventory of customer 502. Customer 502 may choose to receive any numberof movies up to the “Max Out” limit of four movies. Typically, customer502 will choose to initially receive four movies in the initialdelivery.

Once the one or more initial movies 512 have been mailed to customer502, then in step 610, a determination is made whether any movies 512have been returned by customer 502 to trigger another movie delivery. Inthe present example, the delivery of additional movies is triggered bythe receipt, e.g., via mail, of one or more movies from customer 502. Inthe situation where customer 502 elects to not receive the maximumnumber of movies 512 in the initial delivery, then the delivery ofadditional movies 512 may also be triggered by a request from customer502 for additional movies 512. For example, customer 502 may notifyprovider 504 via telephone, email or by accessing the web siteassociated with provider. 504.

If, in step 610, a determination is made that one or more movies 512were received from customer 502, then in step 612, a determination ismade whether the maximum number of turns (“Max Turns”) limit has beenreached for the current cycle. In the present example, a determinationis made whether four or more movies have been mailed in the currentmonth. If not, then control returns to step 608, where one or moreadditional movies 512 are mailed to customer 502 via delivery channel514 up to the “Max Out” limit of four.

If, in step 612, a determination is made that the “Max Turns” limit hasbeen met for the current cycle, i.e., in the present example, fourmovies 512 have been mailed to customer 502 in the current month, thenin step 614 a determination is made whether to override the current “MaxTurns” limit. If so, then in step 616, a surcharge is applied tocustomer 502 and control returns to step 608 where the additional movies514 are mailed to customer 502. If not, then in step 618, adetermination is made whether to continue the subscription service. Ifso, then no additional movies are mailed to customer 502 during thecurrent cycle, e.g., the current month, and the control returns to step610. If, in step 618, a determination is made that service is not to becontinued, then the process is complete in step 620.

In some situations, customer 502 may desire to increase or decrease thesize of customer's 502 personal movie inventory by changing the current“Max Out” limit. According to one embodiment, customer 502 notifiesprovider 504, e.g., by telephone, mail, email or by accessing the website associated with provider 504, that customer 502 wishes to changethe “Max Out” limit. The movie rental agreement between customer 502 andprovider 504 is then modified to reflect the change of the “Max Out”limit. In the situation where the “Max Out” limit is increased, thenadditional movies 512 may be immediately mailed to customer 502.

6. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

The approach described herein for renting items to customers providessuperior inventory management to prior approaches. Specifically, the useof item selection criteria provides for efficient inventory managementby allowing the greatest number of items to be rented at any given time.Moreover, the greatest number of customers are provided with their mostpreferred items. For example, customers may specify priorities for theitems indicated by the item selection criteria. Thus, if a particularcustomer's first choice is not available, or already rented, then theitem having the next highest priority can be rented to the particularcustomer. According to one embodiment, customers may indicate items thatare not yet available for rent. Then, the items are delivered tocustomers when they become available.

For example, referring again to FIG. 5, suppose that a particularcustomer 502 desires to rent an as-yet-unreleased movie entitled “ABC.”The particular customer 502 indicates this movie to provider 504 by theitem selection criteria. Since the movie ABC is not yet available, itcannot be delivered to the particular customer 502. However, when themovie ABC does become available, it can be shipped immediately to theparticular customer 502, as well as other customers 502 who may havealso requested the movie. This allows provider 504 to maximize thenumber of items rented while ensuring that customers 502 are able torent the highest priority items that they requested.

According to another embodiment, as yet unknown items may also be rentedby specifying attributes of the unknown items. For example, theparticular customer 502 may request to rent the next new movie of aparticular director, for which the exact name is unknown to theparticular customer. As another example, the particular customer 502 mayrequest to rent the next album of a particular group that is currentlyin process and does not yet have a title.

7. IMPLEMENTATION MECHANISMS

The approach described herein for renting items to customers isapplicable to any type of rental application and (without limitation) isparticularly well suited for Internet-based rental applications forrenting movies and music to customers. The invention may be implementedin hardware circuitry, in computer software, or a combination ofhardware circuitry and computer software and is not limited to aparticular hardware or software implementation.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 700 uponwhich an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Computer system700 includes a bus 702 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 704 coupled with bus 702 forprocessing information. Computer system 700 also includes a main memory706, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storagedevice, coupled to bus 702 for storing information and instructions tobe executed by processor 704. Main memory 706 also may be used forstoring temporary variables or other intermediate information duringexecution of instructions to be executed by processor 704. Computersystem 700 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 708 or other staticstorage device coupled to bus 702 for storing static information andinstructions for processor 704. A storage device 710, such as a magneticdisk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus 702 for storinginformation and instructions.

Computer system 700 may be coupled via bus 702 to a display 712, such asa cathode ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user.An input device 714, including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupledto bus 702 for communicating information and command selections toprocessor 704. Another type of user input device is cursor control 716,such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to processor 704 and forcontrolling cursor movement on display 712. This input device typicallyhas two degrees of freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and asecond axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify positions in aplane.

The invention is related to the use of computer system 700 for rentingitems to customers. According to one embodiment of the invention, therenting of items to customers is provided by computer system 700 inresponse to processor 704 executing one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions contained in main memory 706. Such instructions may be readinto main memory 706 from another computer-readable medium, such asstorage device 710. Execution of the sequences of instructions containedin main memory 706 causes processor 704 to perform the process stepsdescribed herein. One or more processors in a multi-processingarrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences ofinstructions contained in main memory 706. In alternative embodiments,hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination withsoftware instructions to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments ofthe invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardwarecircuitry and software.

The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any mediumthat participates in providing instructions to processor 704 forexecution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limitedto, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.Non-volatile media includes, for example, optical or magnetic disks,such as storage device 710. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, suchas main memory 706. Transmission media includes coaxial cables, copperwire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 702.Transmission media can also take the form of acoustic or light waves,such as those generated during radio wave and infrared datacommunications.

Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppydisk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magneticmedium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM,a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave asdescribed hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 704 forexecution. For example, the instructions may initially be carried on amagnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load theinstructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over atelephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 700 canreceive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitterto convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupledto bus 702 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and placethe data on bus 702. Bus 702 carries the data to main memory 706, fromwhich processor 704 retrieves and executes the instructions. Theinstructions received by main memory 706 may optionally be stored onstorage device 710 either before or after execution by processor 704.

Computer system 700 also includes a communication interface 718 coupledto bus 702. Communication interface 718 provides a two-way datacommunication coupling to a network link 720 that is connected to alocal network 722. For example, communication interface 718 may be anintegrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide adata communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line.As another example, communication interface 718 may be a local areanetwork (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to acompatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any suchimplementation, communication interface 718 sends and receiveselectrical, electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital datastreams representing various types of information.

Network link 720 typically provides data communication through one ormore networks to other data devices. For example, network link 720 mayprovide a connection through local network 722 to a host computer 724 orto data equipment operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 726.ISP 726 in turn provides data communication services through the worldwide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as the“Internet” 728. Local network 722 and Internet 728 both use electrical,electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. Thesignals through the various networks and the signals on network link 720and through communication interface 718, which carry the digital data toand from computer system 700, are exemplary forms of carrier wavestransporting the information.

Computer system 700 can send messages and receive data, includingprogram code, through the network(s), network link 720 and communicationinterface 718. In the Internet example, a server 730 might transmit arequested code for an application program through Internet 728, ISP 726,local network 722 and communication interface 718. In accordance withthe invention, one such downloaded application provides for the rentingof items to customers as described herein.

The received code may be executed by processor 704 as it is received,and/or stored in storage device 710, or other non-volatile storage forlater execution. In this manner, computer system 700 may obtainapplication code in the form of a carrier wave.

The novel approach described herein for renting items to customersprovides several advantages over prior approaches for renting items tocustomers. First, the decision of what items to rent may be separatedfrom the decision of when to rent the items. Customers may specify whatitems to rent using the item selection criteria and receive the items ata future point in time, without having to go to the provider to pick upthe items. The selection criteria may be user specific and may indicatea desired fulfillment sequence. Furthermore, customers are notconstrained by conventional due dates and instead may establishcontinuous, serialized rental streams of items. The approach also allowsmore efficient inventory management.

The “Max Out” approach for inventory management allows users to maintaintheir own inventory of items that are periodically replaced by otheritems according to specified event criteria. The event criteria thattrigger sending another item to a customer are very flexible and may betailored to the requirements of a particular application. For example,as described herein, the event criteria may include a return of any ofthe items currently in use by the customer or merely customernotification. This is very convenient in the context of movie rentalssince a the return of a movie to the provider automatically triggers thesending of another movie to the customer. The “Max Turns” approach forinventory management, when used alone or in combination with “Max Out,”provides even greater flexibility for customers and providers. The maxnumber of turns can be selected individually for particular customersdepending upon their particular needs.

The “Max Out” and “Max Turns” approaches provide great flexibility inestablishing subscription models to satisfy the needs of a particularapplication. Specifically, the size and replacement frequency ofcustomer inventories can be tailored to each customer withindividualized subscription plans.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described asapplicable to an implementation anticipating Internet based ordering andmail or other long-distance delivery of the items, where the specialadvantages of the method are very attractive. However the same inventionmay be applied in a more conventional video, games, or musicrental-store setting, where subscription customers may be allowedrentals of a specified number of movies, games, or music selections atany time, and/or in one subscription period, without rental return duedates, in exchange for a periodic rental subscription fee.

In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described withreference to specific embodiments thereof. However, variousmodifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification anddrawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative senserather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for renting items to customers, themethod comprising the computer-implemented steps of: receiving one ormore item selection criteria that indicates one or more items that acustomer desires to rent; providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria; and in response to receiving any of the itemsprovided to the customer, providing to the customer one or more otheritems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria, wherein atotal current number of items provided to the customer does not exceedthe specified number.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein a totalnumber of items provided to the customer within a specified period oftime does not exceed a specified limit.
 3. A method as recited in claim2, further comprising if the total number of items provided to thecustomer within the specified period of time is less than the specifiedlimit, then increasing the specified limit for another specified periodof time.
 4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more itemselection criteria indicates a desired order for the one or more itemsthat a customer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customerup to a specified number of the one or more items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria includes providing to the customer up toa specified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria in the desired order indicated by the itemselection criteria, and the step of providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes providing to the customer one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria in the desired order indicatedby the one or more item selection criteria.
 5. A method as recited inclaim 4, further comprising if a particular item from the one or moreitems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria is notavailable, then providing another item from the one or more items basedupon the desired order indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria.
 6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or moreitem selection criteria specifies one or more preferred item attributes,the step of providing to the customer up to a specified number of theone or more items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes automatically selecting and providing to the customer up to aspecified number of one or more items that have one or more of the oneor more preferred item attributes specified by the one or more itemselection criteria, and the step of providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes automatically selecting and providing to the customer one ormore other items that have one or more of the one or more preferred itemattributes specified by the one or more item selection criteria.
 7. Amethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising: establishing, basedupon the one or more item selection criteria, an item rental queue forthe customer, wherein the item rental queue contains one or more entriesthat specify the one or more items that the customer desires to rent;and in response to receiving back any of the items provided to thecustomer, selecting the one or more other items from the item rentalqueue.
 8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising in responseto receiving a customer notification, providing to the customer a secondset of one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria.
 9. A method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising in response to expiration of a specified amount of time,providing to the customer a second set of one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 10. A method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising in response to a specified datebeing reached, providing to the customer a second set of one or moreother items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 11. Amethod as recited in claim 1, further comprising in response to aspecified fee being received, providing to the customer a second set ofone or more other items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria.
 12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein items are providedto the customer by mail.
 13. A method as recited in claim 1, whereinitems are provided to the customer by a delivery agent.
 14. A method asrecited in claim 1, wherein: the one or more items are one or moremovies, the one or more item selection criteria are one or more movieselection criteria, the step of receiving one or more item selectioncriteria that indicates one or more items that a customer desires torent includes receiving one or more movie selection criteria thatindicates one or more movies that a customer desires to rent, the stepof providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moreitems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moremovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria, and thestep of in response to receiving any of the items provided to thecustomer, providing to the customer one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria, wherein a total current numberof items provided to the customer does not exceed the specified numberincludes in response to receiving any of the movies provided to thecustomer, providing to the customer one or more other movies indicatedby the one or more movie selection criteria, wherein a total currentnumber of movies provided to the customer does not exceed the specifiednumber.
 15. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein: the one or moreitems are one or more games, the one or more item selection criteria areone or more game selection criteria, the step of receiving one or moreitem selection criteria that indicates one or more items that a customerdesires to rent includes receiving one or more game selection criteriathat indicates one or more games that a customer desires to rent, thestep of providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moregames indicated by the one or more game selection criteria, and the stepof in response to receiving any of the items provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria, wherein a total current number of itemsprovided to the customer does not exceed the specified number includesin response to receiving any of the games provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other games indicated by the oneor more game selection criteria, wherein a total current number of gamesprovided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.
 16. Amethod for renting items to customers, the method comprising thecomputer-implemented steps of: receiving one or more item selectioncriteria that indicates one or more items that a customer desires torent; providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria; and inresponse to receiving any of the items provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria, wherein a total number of itemsprovided to the customer within a specified period of time does notexceed a specified limit.
 17. A method as recited in claim 16, whereinthe total current number of items provided to the customer does notexceed the specified number.
 18. A method as recited in claim 16,further comprising if the total number of items provided to the customerwithin the specified period of time is less than the specified limit,then increasing the specified limit for another specified period oftime.
 19. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the one or more itemselection criteria indicates a desired order for the one or more itemsthat a customer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customerup to a specified number of the one or more items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria includes providing to the customer up toa specified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria in the desired order indicated by the one ormore item selection criteria, and the step of providing to the customerone or more other items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria includes providing to the customer one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria in the desiredorder indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 20. A methodas recited in claim 19, further comprising if a particular item from theone or more items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriais not available, then providing another item from the one or more itemsbased upon the desired order indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria.
 21. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the one or moreitem selection criteria specifies one or more preferred item attributes,the step of providing to the customer up to a specified number of theone or more items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes automatically selecting and providing to the customer up to aspecified number of one or more items that have one or more of the oneor more preferred item attributes specified by the one or more itemselection criteria, and the step of providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes automatically selecting and providing to the customer one ormore other items that have one or more of the one or more preferred itemattributes specified by the one or more item selection criteria.
 22. Amethod as recited in claim 16, further comprising: establishing, basedupon the one or more item selection criteria, an item rental queue forthe customer, wherein the item rental queue contains one or more entriesthat specify the one or more items that the customer desires to rent;and in response to receiving back any of the items provided to thecustomer, selecting the one or more other items from the item rentalqueue.
 23. A method as recited in claim 16, further comprising inresponse to receiving a customer notification, providing to the customera second set of one or more other items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria.
 24. A method as recited in claim 16, furthercomprising in response to expiration of a specified amount of time,providing to the customer a second set of one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 25. A method asrecited in claim 16, further comprising in response to a specified datebeing reached, providing to the customer a second set of one or moreother items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 26. Amethod as recited in claim 16, further comprising in response to aspecified fee being received, providing to the customer a second set ofone or more other items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria.
 27. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein items areprovided to the customer by mail.
 28. A method as recited in claim 16,wherein items are provided to the customer by a delivery agent.
 29. Amethod as recited in claim 16, wherein: the one or more items are one ormore movies, the one or more item selection criteria are one or moremovie selection criteria, the step of receiving one or more itemselection criteria that indicates one or more items that a customerdesires to rent includes receiving one or more movie selection criteriathat indicates one or more movies that a customer desires to rent, thestep of providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moremovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria, and thestep of in response to receiving any of the items provided to thecustomer, providing to the customer one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria, wherein a total number of itemsprovided to the customer within a specified period of time does notexceed a specified limit includes in response to receiving any of themovies provided to the customer, providing to the customer one or moreother movies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria,wherein a total number of items provided to the customer within aspecified period of time does not exceed a specified limit.
 30. A methodas recited in claim 16, wherein: the one or more items are one or moregames, the one or more item selection criteria are one or more gameselection criteria, the step of receiving one or more item selectioncriteria that indicates one or more items that a customer desires torent includes receiving one or more game selection criteria thatindicates one or more games that a customer desires to rent, the step ofproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moreitems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moregames indicated by the one or more game selection criteria, and the stepof in response to receiving any of the items provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria, wherein a total number of itemsprovided to the customer within a specified period of time does notexceed a specified limit includes in response to receiving any of thegames provided to the customer, providing to the customer one or moreother games indicated by the one or more game selection criteria,wherein a total number of items provided to the customer within aspecified period of time does not exceed a specified limit.
 31. A methodfor renting movies to customers, the method comprising thecomputer-implemented steps of: receiving one or more movie selectioncriteria from a customer that indicates one or more movies that thecustomer desires to rent; providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more movies indicated by the one or more movieselection criteria; and in response to a return of any of the moviesprovided to the customer, providing to the customer one or more othermovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria, wherein atotal current number of movies provided to the customer does not exceedthe specified number.
 32. A method as recited in claim 31, wherein theone or more movie selection criteria specifies an order in which thecustomer desires to receive the movies, the step of providing to thecustomer up to a specified number of the one or more movies indicated bythe one or more movie selection criteria includes providing to thecustomer up to a specified number of the one or more movies indicated bythe move selection criteria in the order specified by the one or moremovie selection criteria, and the step of providing to the customer oneor more other movies specified by the one or more movie selectioncriteria includes providing to the customer one or more other moviesspecified by the one or more movie selection criteria in the orderspecified by the one or more movie selection criteria.
 33. A method asrecited in claim 31, wherein the one or more movie selection criteriaspecifies movie attributes preferred by the customer, the step ofproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moremovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria includesautomatically selecting and providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more movies that have the specified movieattributes preferred by the customer, and the step of providing to thecustomer one or more other movies specified by the one or more movieselection criteria includes automatically selecting and providing to thecustomer one or more other movies that have the specified movieattributes preferred by the customer.
 34. A method as recited in claim31, wherein movies are provided to the customer by mail.
 35. A method asrecited in claim 31, wherein movies are provided to the customer by adelivery agent.
 36. A computer-readable medium for renting items tocustomers, the computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequencesof one or more instructions which, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform thecomputer-implemented steps of: receiving one or more item selectioncriteria that indicates one or more items that a customer desires torent; providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria; and inresponse to receiving any of the items provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria, wherein a total current number of itemsprovided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.
 37. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, wherein the totalnumber of items provided to the customer within a specified period oftime does not exceed a specified limit.
 38. A computer-readable mediumas recited in claim 37, further comprising one or more sequences of oneor more instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors,cause the one or more processors to perform the step of if the totalnumber of items provided to the customer within the specified period oftime is less than the specified limit, then increasing the specifiedlimit for another specified period of time.
 39. A computer-readablemedium as recited in claim 36, wherein the one or more item selectioncriteria indicates a desired order for the one or more items that acustomer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria includes providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria in the desired order indicated by the one ormore item selection criteria, and the step of providing to the customerone or more other items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria includes providing to the customer one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria in the desiredorder indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 40. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 39, further comprising oneor more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to performthe step of if a particular item from the one or more items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria is not available, then providinganother item from the one or more items based upon the desired orderindicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 41. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, wherein the one or moreitem selection criteria specifies one or more preferred item attributes,the step of providing to the customer up to a specified number of theone or more items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes automatically selecting and providing to the customer up to aspecified number of one or more items that have one or more of the oneor more preferred item attributes specified by the one or more itemselection criteria, and the step of providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes automatically selecting and providing to the customer one ormore other items that have one or more of the one or more preferred itemattributes specified by the one or more item selection criteria.
 42. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, further comprising:establishing, based upon the one or more item selection criteria, anitem rental queue for the customer, wherein the item rental queuecontains one or more entries that specify the one or more items that thecustomer desires to rent; and in response to receiving back any of theitems provided to the customer, selecting the one or more other itemsfrom the item rental queue.
 43. A computer-readable medium as recited inclaim 36, further comprising in response to receiving a customernotification, providing to the customer a second set of one or moreother items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 44. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, further comprising inresponse to expiration of a specified amount of time, providing to thecustomer a second set of one or more other items indicated by the one ormore item selection criteria.
 45. A computer-readable medium as recitedin claim 36, further comprising in response to a specified date beingreached, providing to the customer a second set of one or more otheritems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 46. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, further comprising inresponse to a specified fee being received, providing to the customer asecond set of one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria.
 47. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim36, wherein items are provided to the customer by mail.
 48. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, wherein items areprovided to the customer by a delivery agent.
 49. A computer-readablemedium as recited in claim 36, wherein: the one or more items are one ormore movies, the one or more item selection criteria are one or moremovie selection criteria, the step of receiving one or more itemselection criteria that indicates one or more items that a customerdesires to rent includes receiving one or more movie selection criteriathat indicates one or more movies that a customer desires to rent, thestep of providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moremovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria, and thestep of in response to receiving any of the items provided to thecustomer, providing to the customer one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria, wherein a total current numberof items provided to the customer does not exceed the specified numberincludes in response to receiving any of the movies provided to thecustomer providing to the customer one or more other movies indicated bythe one or more movie selection criteria, wherein a total current numberof movies provided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.50. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 36, wherein: the oneor more items are one or more games, the one or more item selectioncriteria are one or more game selection criteria, the step of receivingone or more item selection criteria that indicates one or more itemsthat a customer desires to rent includes receiving one or more gameselection criteria that indicates one or more games that a customerdesires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria includes providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more games indicated by the one or more gameselection criteria, and the step of in response to receiving any of theitems provided to the customer, providing to the customer one or moreother items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria,wherein a total current number of items provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number includes in response to receiving any ofthe games provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other games indicated by the one or more game selection criteria,wherein a total current number of games provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number.
 51. An apparatus for renting items tocustomers comprising: one or more processors; and a memorycommunicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the memoryincluding one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processorsto perform the steps of: receiving one or more item selection criteriathat indicates one or more items that a customer desires to rent;providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moreitems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria; and inresponse to receiving any of the items provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria, wherein a total current number of itemsprovided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.
 52. Anapparatus as recited in claim 51, wherein the total number of itemsprovided to the customer within a specified period of time does notexceed a specified limit.
 53. An apparatus as recited in claim 52,wherein the memory further includes one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform the step of if the total number ofitems provided to the customer within the specified period of time isless than the specified limit, then increasing the specified limit foranother specified period of time.
 54. An apparatus as recited in claim51, wherein the one or more item selection criteria indicates a desiredorder for the one or more items that a customer desires to rent, thestep of providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moreitems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria in thedesired order indicated by the one or more item selection criteria, andthe step of providing to the customer one or more other items indicatedby the one or more item selection criteria includes providing to thecustomer one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria in the desired order indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria.
 55. An apparatus as recited in claim 54,wherein the memory further includes one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform the step of if a particular itemfrom the one or more items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria is not available, then providing another item from the one ormore items based upon the desired order indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria.
 56. An apparatus as recited in claim 51,wherein the one or more item selection criteria specifies one or morepreferred item attributes, the step of providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria includes automatically selecting and providingto the customer up to a specified number of one or more items that haveone or more of the one or more preferred item attributes specified bythe one or more item selection criteria, and the step of providing tothe customer one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria includes automatically selecting and providing to thecustomer one or more other items that have one or more of the one ormore preferred item attributes specified by the one or more itemselection criteria.
 57. An apparatus as recited in claim 51, furthercomprising: establishing, based upon the one or more item selectioncriteria, an item rental queue for the customer, wherein the item rentalqueue contains one or more entries that specify the one or more itemsthat the customer desires to rent; and in response to receiving back anyof the items provided to the customer, selecting the one or more otheritems from the item rental queue.
 58. An apparatus as recited in claim51, further comprising in response to receiving a customer notification,providing to the customer a second set of one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 59. An apparatusas recited in claim 51, further comprising in response to expiration ofa specified amount of time, providing to the customer a second set ofone or more other items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria.
 60. An apparatus as recited in claim 51, further comprising inresponse to a specified date being reached, providing to the customer asecond set of one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria.
 61. An apparatus as recited in claim 51, furthercomprising in response to a specified fee being received, providing tothe customer a second set of one or more other items indicated by theone or more item selection criteria.
 62. An apparatus as recited inclaim 51, wherein items are provided to the customer by mail.
 63. Anapparatus as recited in claim 51, wherein items are provided to thecustomer by a delivery agent.
 64. An apparatus as recited in claim 51,wherein: the one or more items are one or more movies, the one or moreitem selection criteria are one or more movie selection criteria, thestep of receiving one or more item selection criteria that indicates oneor more items that a customer desires to rent includes receiving one ormore movie selection criteria that indicates one or more movies that acustomer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria includes providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more movies indicated by the one or moremovie selection criteria, and the step of in response to receiving anyof the items provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria,wherein a total current number of items provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number includes in response to receiving any ofthe movies provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other movies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria,wherein a total current number of movies provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number.
 65. An apparatus as recited in claim51, wherein: the one or more items are one or more games, the one ormore item selection criteria are one or more game selection criteria,the step of receiving one or more item selection criteria that indicatesone or more items that a customer desires to rent includes receiving oneor more game selection criteria that indicates one or more games that acustomer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria includes providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more games indicated by the one or moregame selection criteria, and the step of in response to receiving any ofthe items provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria,wherein a total current number of items provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number includes in response to receiving any ofthe games provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other games indicated by the one or more game selection criteria,wherein a total current number of games provided to the customer doesnot exceed the specified number.
 66. An apparatus for renting items tocustomers comprising an item rental mechanism configured to: receive oneor more item selection criteria that indicates one or more items that acustomer desires to rent; provide to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria; and in response to receiving any of the itemsprovided to the customer, providing to the customer one or more otheritems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria, wherein atotal current number of items provided to the customer does not exceedthe specified number.
 67. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, whereinthe total number of items provided to the customer within a specifiedperiod of time does not exceed a specified limit.
 68. An apparatus asrecited in claim 67, wherein the item rental mechanism is furtherconfigured to if the total number of items provided to the customerwithin the specified period of time is less than the specified limit,then increase the specified limit for another specified period of time.69. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, wherein the one or more itemselection criteria indicates a desired order for the one or more itemsthat a customer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customerup to a specified number of the one or more items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria includes providing to the customer up toa specified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria in the desired order indicated by the one ormore item selection criteria, and the step of providing to the customerone or more other items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria includes providing to the customer one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria in the desiredorder indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 70. Anapparatus as recited in claim 69, wherein the item rental mechanism isfurther configured to if a particular item from the one or more itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria is not available,then providing another item from the one or more items based upon thedesired order indicated by the one or more item selection criteria. 71.An apparatus as recited in claim 66, wherein the one or more itemselection criteria specifies one or more preferred item attributes, thestep of providing to the customer up to a specified number of the one ormore items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesautomatically selecting and providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of one or more items that have one or more of the one or morepreferred item attributes specified by the one or more item selectioncriteria, and the step of providing to the customer one or more otheritems indicated by the one or more item selection criteria includesautomatically selecting and providing to the customer one or more otheritems that have one or more of the one or more preferred item attributesspecified by the one or more item selection criteria.
 72. An apparatusas recited in claim 66, further comprising: establishing, based upon theone or more item selection criteria, an item rental queue for thecustomer, wherein the item rental queue contains one or more entriesthat specify the one or more items that the customer desires to rent;and in response to receiving back any of the items provided to thecustomer, selecting the one or more other items from the item rentalqueue.
 73. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, further comprising inresponse to receiving a customer notification, providing to the customera second set of one or more other items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria.
 74. An apparatus as recited in claim 66,further comprising in response to expiration of a specified amount oftime, providing to the customer a second set of one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 75. An apparatusas recited in claim 66, further comprising in response to a specifieddate being reached, providing to the customer a second set of one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.76. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, further comprising in responseto a specified fee being received, providing to the customer a secondset of one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria.
 77. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, whereinitems are provided to the customer by mail.
 78. An apparatus as recitedin claim 66, wherein items are provided to the customer by a deliveryagent.
 79. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, wherein: the item rentalmechanism is a movie rental mechanism, the one or more items are one ormore movies, the one or more item selection criteria are one or moremovie selection criteria, the movie rental mechanism is furtherconfigured to receive one or more movie selection criteria thatindicates one or more movies that a customer desires to rent, the movierental mechanism is further configured to provide to the customer up toa specified number of the one or more movies indicated by the one ormore movie selection criteria, and the movie rental mechanism is furtherconfigured to in response to receiving any of the movies provided to thecustomer, provide to the customer one or more other movies indicated bythe one or more movie selection criteria, wherein a total current numberof movies provided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.80. An apparatus as recited in claim 66, wherein: the one or more itemsare one or more games, the one or more item selection criteria are oneor more game selection criteria, the movie rental mechanism is furtherconfigured to receive one or more game selection criteria that indicatesone or more games that a customer desires to rent, the movie rentalmechanism is further configured to provide to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more games indicated by the one or moregame selection criteria, and the movie rental mechanism is furtherconfigured to in response to receiving any of the games provided to thecustomer, provide to the customer one or more other games indicated bythe one or more game selection criteria, wherein a total current numberof games provided to the customer does not exceed the specified number.81. A computer-readable medium for renting items to customers, thecomputer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause theone or more processors to perform the computer-implemented steps of:receiving one or more item selection criteria that indicates one or moreitems that a customer desires to rent; providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria; and in response to receiving any of the itemsprovided to the customer, one or more item delivery criteria beingsatisfied, providing to the customer one or more other items indicatedby the one or more item selection criteria, wherein a total number ofitems provided to the customer within a specified period of time doesnot exceed a specified limit.
 82. A computer-readable medium as recitedin claim 81, wherein the total current number of items provided to thecustomer does not exceed the specified number.
 83. A computer-readablemedium as recited in claim 81, further comprising if the total number ofitems provided to the customer within the specified period of time isless than the specified limit, then increasing the specified limit foranother specified period of time.
 84. A computer-readable medium asrecited in claim 81, wherein the one or more item selection criteriaindicates a desired order for the one or more items that a customerdesires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria includes providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria in the desired order indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria, and the step of providing to the customer oneor more other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteriaincludes providing to the customer one or more other items indicated bythe one or more item selection criteria in the desired order indicatedby the one or more item selection criteria.
 85. A computer-readablemedium as recited in claim 84, further comprising if a particular itemfrom the one or more items indicated by the one or more item selectioncriteria is not available, then providing another item from the one ormore items based upon the desired order indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria.
 86. A computer-readable medium as recited inclaim 81, wherein the one or more item selection criteria specifies oneor more preferred item attributes, the step of providing to the customerup to a specified number of the one or more items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria includes automatically selecting andproviding to the customer up to a specified number of one or more itemsthat have one or more of the one or more preferred item attributesspecified by the one or more item selection criteria, and the step ofproviding to the customer one or more other items indicated by the oneor more item selection criteria includes automatically selecting andproviding to the customer one or more other items that have one or moreof the one or more preferred item attributes specified by the one ormore item selection criteria.
 87. A computer-readable medium as recitedin claim 81, further comprising: establishing, based upon the one ormore item selection criteria, an item rental queue for the customer,wherein the item rental queue contains one or more entries that specifythe one or more items that the customer desires to rent; and in responseto receiving back any of the items provided to the customer, selectingthe one or more other items from the item rental queue.
 88. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 81, further comprising inresponse to receiving a customer notification, providing to the customera second set of one or more other items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria.
 89. A computer-readable medium as recited inclaim 81, further comprising in response to expiration of a specifiedamount of time, providing to the customer a second set of one or moreother items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 90. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 81, further comprising inresponse to a specified date being reached, providing to the customer asecond set of one or more other items indicated by the one or more itemselection criteria.
 91. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim81, further comprising in response to a specified fee being received,providing to the customer a second set of one or more other itemsindicated by the one or more item selection criteria.
 92. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 81, wherein items areprovided to the customer by mail.
 93. A computer-readable medium asrecited in claim 81, wherein items are provided to the customer by adelivery agent.
 94. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim 81,wherein: the one or more items are one or more movies, the one or moreitem selection criteria are one or more movie selection criteria, thestep of receiving one or more item selection criteria that indicates oneor more items that a customer desires to rent includes receiving one ormore movie selection criteria that indicates one or more movies that acustomer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria includes providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more movies indicated by the one or moremovie selection criteria, and the step of in response to receiving anyof the items provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria,wherein a total number of items provided to the customer within aspecified period of time does not exceed a specified limit includes inresponse to receiving any of the movies provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other movies indicated by the oneor more movie selection criteria, wherein a total number of itemsprovided to the customer within a specified period of time does notexceed a specified limit.
 95. A computer-readable medium as recited inclaim 81, wherein: the one or more items are one or more games, the oneor more item selection criteria are one or more game selection criteria,the step of receiving one or more item selection criteria that indicatesone or more items that a customer desires to rent includes receiving oneor more game selection criteria that indicates one or more games that acustomer desires to rent, the step of providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more items indicated by the one or moreitem selection criteria includes providing to the customer up to aspecified number of the one or more games indicated by the one or moregame selection criteria, and the step of in response to receiving any ofthe items provided to the customer, providing to the customer one ormore other items indicated by the one or more item selection criteria,wherein a total number of items provided to the customer within aspecified period of time does not exceed a specified limit includes inresponse to receiving any of the games provided to the customer,providing to the customer one or more other games indicated by the oneor more game selection criteria, wherein a total number of itemsprovided to the customer within a specified period of time does notexceed a specified limit.
 96. A computer-readable medium for rentingmovies to customers, the computer-readable medium carrying one or moresequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one ormore processors, cause the one or more processors to perform thecomputer-implemented steps of: receiving one or more movie selectioncriteria from a customer that indicates one or more movies that thecustomer desires to rent; providing to the customer up to a specifiednumber of the one or more movies indicated by the one or more movieselection criteria; and in response to a return of any of the moviesprovided to the customer, providing to the customer one or more othermovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria, wherein atotal current number of movies provided to the customer does not exceedthe specified number.
 97. A computer-readable medium as recited in claim96, wherein the one or more movie selection criteria specifies an orderin which the customer desires to receive the movies, the step ofproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moremovies indicated by the one or more movie selection criteria includesproviding to the customer up to a specified number of the one or moremovies indicated by the move selection criteria in the order specifiedby the one or more movie selection criteria, and the step of providingto the customer one or more other movies specified by the one or moremovie selection criteria includes providing to the customer one or moreother movies specified by the one or more movie selection criteria inthe order specified by the one or more movie selection criteria.
 98. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 96, wherein the one or moremovie selection criteria specifies movie attributes preferred by thecustomer, the step of providing to the customer up to a specified numberof the one or more movies indicated by the one or more movie selectioncriteria includes automatically selecting and providing to the customerup to a specified number of the one or more movies that have thespecified movie attributes preferred by the customer, and the step ofproviding to the customer one or more other movies specified by the oneor more movie selection criteria includes automatically selecting andproviding to the customer one or more other movies that have thespecified movie attributes preferred by the customer.
 99. Acomputer-readable medium as recited in claim 96, wherein movies areprovided to the customer by mail.
 100. A computer-readable medium asrecited in claim 96, wherein movies are provided to the customer by adelivery agent.